This blog is just my heartfelt approach to taking the plunge of introducing light and warmth to all the survivors and viewers.
We all have been coming across the updates and news as to how this pandemic is playing with our lives and physical health. Undoubtedly, it’s been traumatizing for most of us to witness such a jump in the number of cases after the second wave arrived. None of us are talking about how covid is not only ruining our physical health but our mental health too. We aren’t talking about how the number of cases of depression and anxiety attacks has taken a sudden surge this year.
Who would have thought that one day we all were going to be in our homes with our families for months? We all have been affected by the covid Pandemic. Whether it’s physical, mental, or economic we all suffered a lot, in fact still suffering. We still don’t know what’s going to happen next.
All of us watching the headlines and wondering when is this going to end, right ?? Actually, no one knows how long this will last. And with this fear we all are in our homes all the time watching news, getting anxious and feeling depressed about it, and still don’t know what to do.
Well, Don’t worry we are in this together!
You’re not alone. It is absolutely normal for each of us to feel stress, anxiety, fear, and loneliness during such times. Millions of people are going through the same commotion and it’s okay, not everything is in your hand. But yes it’s in your hand to try staying positive During such times. Hiding or avoiding problems isn’t a solution to it, although I am also a type of person who sometimes feels very low and lonely and it’s completely okay to feel it as they are also a part of our emotions but taking it too seriously by which, if it’s affecting our mental health then we should think about it.
When I see young people dying due to covid, I see people finding beds, cylinders and unable to find them in time, it just hurts me a lot and I know it hurts you too. And all this creates tension in my mind or fear of losing someone. But life’s too uncertain and short. Being alone, feeling sad knowing what you’re going through, and still not doing something for it is nothing just a big mistake.
My mother is a diabetic and asthmatic patient, not only this she has thyroid as well. When you have a family member who is suffering from soo many issues, it’s pretty obvious to get anxiety. Some starting days of covid were full of stress and fear, Although Uttarakhand was pretty much safe at that time but still it’s my duty, not only mine but my whole family’s duty to be responsible, positive, and helpful in such time.
Here are a few ideas which I followed in the face of this unique crisis to manage my anxiety and fear and I hope you’ll find them useful as well. Here are they:
Stick to authentic sources
During starting days of Coronavirus, My family used to watch the news for like hours and hours watching what was happening in our country. Getting updates about it literally made us all worried and I know my family is not the only one who felt anxious because of news channels. Later my Dad realised how these news channels are contributing to making us anxious and sad, we Stopped following the no. Of cases on a daily basis. I know it’s very important to stay updated about what’s happening in our country or world but there are a lot of misinformation spreading around as well. All I can say is stick to authentic sources and try to avoid toxicity as much as you can.
Connect with Others
Well, there is much need of a partner or family & friends during such times, When you have someone who checks upon you, you really feel strong and moreover emotional support plays a very vital role in bad times.
There’s a trend nowadays to blame social media for everything. Okay I agree, People waste a lot of their time scrolling but everything in excess amount is bad. Social media is important in its own way, for me, it really helped me to check up upon others... watching memes, series, and chatting with friends can help you a lot in this. Social media also helps us in retrieving genuine news as most of the mainstream news channels don’t show real news anymore.
Personally, I prefer calling, Yes I call my friends or cousins. Calling literally helped me in feeling positive and it made me feel good.
Sharing what’s going on in our mind really makes us feel light and relaxed Moreover it’s far better than sitting alone in a room thinking about the past, crying over a breakup, or regretting things. Just stay positive feel positive. Call your friends and check on them.
Self-care
- I don't know why some people misunderstand self-care as selfish, it’s far from that, taking out some time for yourself doesn’t make you bad in fact it’s very important.
- To me, self-care is just doesn’t matter in what way, I practice self-care every day From taking out some extra time to apply DIYs from youtube to taking walks and so on
- It's important to self-care not only in this pandemic but on daily basis. Eating healthy, exercising daily, and self-pampering is what I try to do.
- During this time, Self-care is so important as it helps in increasing positive thinking and makes us less stressful, depressed, and sad.
Productivity
when you see others becoming influencers, creating content, earning money, doing new things and you see yourself like you don’t know what type of talent you have, I can relate to you. lol!! Well, but productivity for me is a much wider term.
Last year I lost some good kgs, I am trying to improve my communication skills, right now blogging, and it’s not less than productivity for me. Running a fan page of 17k followers, and completing Ramayana in the last lockdown is also big productivity for me. It’s good to make yourself busy with things which help you to prevent anxiety...
Spending time with family
This period of lockdown has taught us the value of family, we have been soo lost in our daily work soo this lockdown has given us the purpose to spend the time with our family … We were together in our homes and that’s what you need during the pandemic. When you have your family by your side, You feel confident. Being with family during this time is like the biggest need.
During the last lockdown, I and my family used to play cards, Ludo, we also used to watch Ramayana, Mahabharat, and movies which helped us a lot in changing our mood during the Pandemic. During this lockdown I was in my village, we have a joint family there, From exercising together, eating together to sitting together every time. We all got mental support from each other.
There are soo many other things too. From doing household works to do whatever you like, from watching movies to preparing for further studies, from finding a girlfriend or boyfriend to having a breakup from a toxic relationship … There are soo many things one can do in order to be less anxious & depressed. Takeout time for your hobbies, interests, and Relaxation. Everything which is affecting your mental health is toxic for you.
This time is indeed very tough and scary but taking care of our mental health is also very important. We Indians don’t actually focus on our mental health, our schools never educate us on these topics.
It’s very disheartening to see.
"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”.
Can’t even imagine the loss of people, how some families have gone through in these months, how tough it would be for a mother to say goodbye to her young child, how tough it would be for a father to earn money. 2020-2021 was uncertain and scary.
Just want to say you’re not alone And most importantly there is hope.